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Businessmen With Boston Roots Come To Globe‘s Rescue

Earlier this week, Boston Globe union the Boston Newspaper Guild,spoke out in support of the New York Times Co.’s decision to seek a buyer for the Boston paper. But we wondered: who would step up to buy the Globe — and possibly save it from extinction?

Today, the Globereports that three businessmen, all with Boston roots, have stepped up as potential buyers. The Globe‘s sources revealed that those deciding whether to buy the newspaper are Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca; Jack Connors, chairman of Partners HealthCare; and Stephen Taylor, a former executive at the Globe and member of the family that sold the paper to the Times Co. in 1993. The three men are still in the initial stages of inquiry and it’s unclear whether they will eventually make formal bids.

Despite the promise of a potential buyer, the dispute between the Globe‘s staff and the paper’s owner continues. On Monday, the guild, the Globe‘s largest union, voted down concessions offered by the Times Co. As a result, the Times Co. promised 23 percent wage cuts across the board. The Globe has since filed a grievance against the company with the National Labor Relations Board and both sides are set to meet on Monday to hopefully reach a deal that will give the Times Co. the cutbacks it needs without the drastic wage cuts.

It still remains to be seen if the labor dispute will deter potential buyers. Even the Globe speculated today that a buyer might wait until the storm blows over before taking on the paper. If that’s the case, let’s hope it gets resolved quickly so to the Globe can be passed along to an owner that is invested in its survival and can keep it alive.